Paducah moves with rhythm of vibrant art, historic scene

Art, rhythm and rivers come together in Paducah, Ky., so that seemed a fitting theme for the city.

Rosemarie Steele of the Paducah McCracken County Convention and Visitors Bureau said "you can feel the movement." And you can see its progress.

Combining urban renewal with support for the arts, Paducah has attracted more than 60 artists to relocate to the city from throughout the country since 2000. As part of Paducah's Artist Relocation Program, the artists invest in LowerTown, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. Low interest loans are available for artists who buy early 20th Century houses and restore the neighborhood to its former elegance and, at the same time, promote their own art. On the second Saturday of each month the artists and retailers of the LowerTown Arts District hold an Arts Walk, featuring new exhibits, gift items, fine food and demonstrations by working artists who live there.

Paducah Area Painters Alliance (PAPA) is a downtown art gallery that features the original art of many of the local and regional artists members.

"Our city government is very supportive of tourism," Steele said. "They understand the economic impact tourism has for the community."

One of Paducah's biggest artistic draws is the Museum of the American Quilter's Society located at 215 Jefferson St. downtown. The 30,000-square-foot museum is a popular attraction year-round with traveling and permanent exhibits, and in April of each year hosts the annual weeklong AQS Quilt Show and Contest that awards more than $100,000 in prizes. During the week, participants explore classes, lectures, special events and quilt exhibits.

Other museums include the River Heritage Museum, the William Clark Market House Museum, featuring Civil War history, a railroad history museum and the Alben W. Barkley museum, commemorating the Paducah native who served as vice president during the Truman administration.

In addition to the LowerTown Arts District is the Upper Town Heritage Foundation, preserving Paducah's African American heritage. In 1999 Clarence "Bighouse" Gaines, a college basketball coach from Winston-Salem, N.C. and son of the owners of the Hotel Metropolitan, bought the building and donated it to the Upper Town Heritage Foundation. In the days of desegregation, the Metropolitan was where African American entertainers could stay. Louis Armstrong played at the Irvin Cobb Hotel, but stayed at the Metropolitan. Community volunteers are restoring the hotel as an African-American history center.

A short walk from the quilt museum is more evidence of Paducah's commitment to art, tourism and the river -- a pictoral history of the city painted on the floodwall. Artist Robert Dafford has painted 40 panels so far, with six more paintings planned. A walk along the floodwall tells the city's story from log cabin days through development of churches and homes, commerce and nostalgic scenes of drugstore soda fountains, telephone operators at switchboards, a busy downtown Paducah in the 1940s, riverboats and more.

The path along the floodwall leads to an observation deck where tourists can pause and watch the Ohio River, with its boat and barge traffic.

Heading back, tourists walk up the broad streets of downtown, past specialty shops, an antiques district and pocket parks with water fountains, gazebos and benches scattered throughout inviting them to sit a while. Conveniently spaced trash receptacles make it easy for visitors to help keep Paducah free of litter. On many of its streets, stately trees provide a canopy of shade over the benches for visitors who want to sit, enjoy the ambiance, and decide which museum or shop they want to visit next.

The auditorium in the Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Center in has 1,806 seats on three levels.

Art and the river are only part of Paducah's rhythm. The city boasts a symphony and the Carson Four Rivers Center, a performing arts center that has attracted Broadway-quality productions and major entertainers.

Every Saturday evening between 7 and 10 p.m., from May through September, merchants offer Downtown After Diner, featuring live entertainment, fine dining, shopping, antique cars and horse-drawn carriage rides.

Paducah is filled not only with wonderful restaurants, specialty food shops, museums, galleries, and day spas, but also abounds with interesting architecture, and stately homes with lush yards. Less than 100 miles from Cape Girardeau, it's easy and fun to make a day trip to Paducah, although Steele from the Convention and Visitors Bureau suggests that visitors take advantage of the hotels and bed and breakfasts throughout the city and stay for a weekend or even longer.

Driving directions

To get there: Cross the Bill Emerson Bridge and drive until the junction of Highway 146 and Route 3. Follow Route 3 south through Cairo, Ill. across the Ohio River to Wickliffe, Ky. At Wickliffe, take Highway 60 into Paducah.

For information: Contact the Paducah McCracken County Convention and Visitors Bureau at (270) 443-8784.